The Greek Dancer and the Egyptian Priest
by reko1620
Summary: A boat from Greece set off to the small island of Sicily, but Egyptians hijacked the ship, and now two females are lost in a whole new world. One man brings them into the royal palace as dancers. There, the story begins. AU.
1. Chapter 1

My first Azureshipping fanfiction. Hope readers enjoy the reading and leave a review if you have time. I have always enjoy reading stories with Tea/Anzu and Seto set in ancient Egypt. The setting makes it more interesting for me :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It was early in the morning; the sun was barely up. The wind blew the sails toward the island of Sicily. The ship was sailing from the great city of Athens, Greece. The passengers were all preparing their baskets of agricultural products to be sold at the markets in the town Lilibeo (which is now called Marsala).

There were other passengers on the ship that were there not for business, but for other reasons. Some were children who went along with their parents or guardians to help or just to watch the experience of work in the markets. Others range from early adults to elderly who were traveling to enjoy the beauty of another country or to sell their products.

Two figures in dark robes stood near the deck of the ship, looking ahead to their destination. Their faces were covered by a thin, same dark-colored fabric as their robes, leaving only their eyes to be visible. Both had blue eyes, but of different shades.

The taller of the two, although not that much taller, had cerulean blue eyes that were very much the color of the ocean when the sun hit it in the right angle and time. The other person had ebony blue eyes, so dark you can take them as black.

"Princess," the figure with ebony blue eyes said, "are you sure this is all right, because if his Lord finds out that you are gone, I will be in serious trouble."

"Relax, Miho, with me in your corner to back you up, there is no way Papa would do anything to hurt you. I promise," Princess Téa said with a gentle smile.

"But…" Miho, the Princess's personal maid and closest female friend, was worried about the consequences if the King of Greece finds out that his daughter had sneaked out of the palace and onto a ship headed for Sicily.

"Don't worry, Miho, we'll be all right," Téa assured the girl. Miho seemed to relax a bit since she knew that the Princess is brave, but sometimes Miho still worries about Téa's safety.

The two females continued to look out into the ocean where the water was moving back and forth in an elegant rhythm.

The captain of the ship walked around the deck to make sure that everyone got the message that they will be soon arriving in Lilibeo in two more hours (don't know how long it actually takes, but just estimating and just make-believe that they may have been on the ship for a while now before the arrival announcement is made).

The captain spoke to the two masked figures and bowed gentlemanly as soon as they got the message, and he continued to walk on to make the announcement.

Miho turned to the Princess and said, "Princess, I think we should plan out what we are going to do before we get to the Lilibeo market, for we do not want to miss the leaving ship when it is time."

"Yes, we should," Téa said. So, for the next half hour, the two females discussed what they were going to do for the time being when people will be selling their products since the market selling only takes 3 hours in Lilibeo from what Miho had heard from the elderly people who sell various vegetables.

There was only an hour left until the ship arrives in the port of Lilibeo, Sicily. Everything was going great until there was a sudden crash on the ship.

Téa and Miho looked in the direction the sound came from, but didn't see anything until there was screaming. People who had been up in front of the ship were now running in the back direction of the vessel.

"What's going on?" Miho asked a woman running past by them, who had a terrified look on her face.

"Some foreign men have taken over the ship. Hurry! Run away and hide yourselves, otherwise you will suffer a horrible fate if they capture you," the woman replied.

"Princess, let's go," Miho pulled on Téa's arm to get her away as far as possible because Miho knew she could not let anything bad happens to the Princess.

Téa allowed Miho to direct her, but before they could get anywhere, a sword blade was on Téa's shoulder.

"Do not move or I will kill you," a rough male voice demanded in a foreign language.

Téa did not move a single muscle. Without turning around, she recognized that language as Egyptian. She had studied enough languages to differentiate them from one to the other.

Miho had grown up with Téa and received the same education as the Princess, but she did not have much knowledge as Téa does. Miho had studied the Egyptian language and culture also, but she does not understand everything about it. Luckily, she had some understanding of what the man had said. Miho looked fearfully at Téa and worried about the Princess's safety.

Téa gave Miho's hand a calm squeeze, reassuring her that everything is going to be fine. Miho was not sure of that if what that woman had said about them suffering a horrible fate became true. Miho could not live with herself if Téa undergoes anything awful.

The man held up the club in his other hand and poked Téa in the back to make her go forward. The two women followed the order without a complaint. They were pushed into a dark cellar on the ship. Although there was not a lot of light, Téa and Miho could see other passengers from the ship locked down in the room.

"Mommy, what is going on?" one little girl asked her mother, who shook violently with fear.

"I don't know, sweetie, but hopefully everything is going to be fine," the mother assured her daughter, although she was not sure what is going to become of their life.

"I heard that when ships get hijacked by foreigners, they usually take us back to their country to sell us as slaves," one woman whispered to her friend.

"I heard that, too, but some are lucky enough to escape from that kind of fate," another female added to the conversation.

"Téa," Miho, remembering to call the Princess by her name whenever they were out in town for they do not want the villagers to know their identity, said, "this is bad. What if your father finds out that you are gone? He will not know where to find you, and if he does, we will be big trouble."

"Miho, don't worry. I will think of something, so that we won't end up as slaves to some old creep in Egypt," Téa whispered.

"I hope you are right about that, Téa," Miho still had that concerned look on her face.

Tea reassured Miho with a warm smile. In no time, the two fell asleep.

_Soft hands roamed through silky hair. Hot and passionate kisses everywhere. An aromatic fragrance with a hint of sweat dispersed in the air. Slow and seductive. Fast and lustful. Hand in hand. Hungry for one another. The sound of pleasurable moans and groans filled the room. Love bites on every inch of the body. _

Téa woke up from her sleep and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She felt a strange sensation mixed with nervousness in her stomach. That was a strange dream, she thought. Tea decided to stay awake for the rest of the ship ride.

After what seems like an eternity, there was a sudden shifting of the ship. The anchor was released into the water, and the ship came to a halt at the port of the foreign land of Egypt. Some women worried themselves so much that they fell asleep. When they felt the stopping motion, they stirred awake from their slumber.

The door to the cellar opened, and some men with dark skin formed the women into two lines, leading them the way down the ship. The men had ropes to bind the hands of the women. Téa tried to get her legs back to life again because they were numb from sitting too long in the crowded cellar with the other female captives.

The lines of women were ordered to get onto a cart that was small and cramp. Every female made as much room as she could for her fellow gender.

Téa and Miho, still draped in their dark robes, got their way onto the cart. The ride was not that long. It was around maybe an hour later that they started hearing noises. Very loud noises. Téa guessed they must have arrived in the village market.

Some of the previous dark-skinned men opened the door of the cart and let the women out. The women followed the men and found themselves walking up to a platform in the middle of the town.

The villagers, mostly men, crowded around the stage. Téa and Miho looked at one another, wondering what is going to happen.

"Ladies and gentlemen," one of the Egyptian men, who looked like he was the leader of the pact, announced. "We present to you women from the far away land of Greece."

"Shall we start the bidding?" a man of shorter stature standing on the right side of the announcer said.

"I want to take a closer look at these women," one of the men in the crowd said with a lustful look.

Some of the captive females huddled close together to keep away the man, so he would not touch them.

The man walked onto the platform and went down the line, taking a careful look at each female before he descended upon Téa. He moved his hand to remove her mask, but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't you dare touch her," Miho shouted in Greek, while glaring dead on at the man.

The man laughed loudly, and so did the other villagers. The man stopped his laughing and continued to try to remove Téa's mask. Téa had never let any man touch her, with the exception of her father that is. She pulled back her hand back in a fist, punched the man as hard as she could and grabbed Miho's hand to jump off the platform.

* * *

"Why are we here, general?" one solider asked.

"I think we are getting some reward for being such good soldiers," another solider laughed.

"You can say we are getting some reward, but it's not for me or you guys," general Darius said.

"Who would it be for, sir?" the first soldier named Hikaru asked.

"It would be for my great friend, Priest Seto," Darius replied, and without turning to look, he can sense two set of jaws dropping to the ground in shock.

"Priest Seto?" the two soldiers almost shouted, but they remembered where they were, so they said in their normal voices.

"Yes."

"What is it that you are getting him for a reward, might I ask, sir?" the second soldier, Toshi, asked.

"Simple, the opposite of every man is a woman."

"A woman?" Hikaru asked.

"Are you okay, general Darius?" Toshi asked and added, "Because last time I checked, Priest Seto had no interest in women at all. We even speculate he might be…you know what."

"No, of course not," Darius chuckled at the thought of his friend being interested in men. If anyone should know about Seto's sexuality, it should be him or Mokuba, Seto's younger brother, for that matter.

"So, we are going to look for a woman for Priest Seto, why?" Hikaru asked.

"Because I think it's high time he got himself a woman and married, don't you think?" Darius replied.

"Yes, but don't you think we should pity the poor woman that is going to be spending the rest of her life with that arrogant Priest?"

"Yeah, I would, but Seto is not who he looks to be," Darius said with a chuckle.

"What kind of woman are we looking for him? A prostitute? I am not too sure about Priest Seto appreciating that," Hikaru said.

"No, you're right. We have to find a woman who is not of that sort. We have to decide carefully in the woman we are looking for," Darius suggested.

"But isn't the main maid, Shizuka, promise to Seto by the Pharaoh already? I thought she was the Pharaoh's gift as a concubine for Seto until he marries," Toshi asked.

"Yes, but you have both notice that Seto does not take interest in the girl, though she has quite the feelings for him," Darius answered Toshi's curiosity.

"So, we're finding a woman for him here in the slave district?" Toshi asked.

"Well, not only that, but because we have a job to do, which is to watch the market, Toshi," Darius answered.

The three militiamen walked on. Everyone was generous in greeting them as they walked by the market sellers. As they were about to the round the corner, something crashed into general Darius.

The young general grabbed hold of whatever slammed into him. He found his grip on two feminine arms. He looked down and saw he was holding a female behind dark-colored robe. A piece of fabric, made of the same material much like her robe, covered her face except for her eyes. He saw that her eyes were a rare shade of blue. It was magnificent; it was like looking out into the ocean during a sunset.

The female turned to her companion, and that was when Darius took notice of the second female. She was a bit shorter than the one he was holding in his embrace. She dressed similarly to her friend. But her eyes were of a darker blue.

"Excuse us," the female spoke as she broke away from Darius's hold. Darius recognized the language as Greek. Téa grabbed Miho's hand and ran away.

Darius's mind went back to a few days earlier when he had a conversation with the Priestess Ishizu. He vaguely remembered her telling him to keep an eye out for a woman who spoke Greek. He asked her why it was so important. She replied that it was for the happiness of Priest Seto.

Darius ran after the two females and caught up with them in no time due to the difference in leg length. He grabbed hold of one of the females' arms and stopped them from running any farther.

"I am sorry to bother you, Miss, but you seem to be in trouble. So, I was wondering if I could be of some help," Darius suggested with a faint smile.

The female with light azure eyes squinted with suspicion, but softened a bit when she sensed sincerity from his wordings. The other female, whose arm Darius was holding, swatted his hand away.

"I don't think so," the darker blue eye colored female said.

"Well, if it helps to calm you, I am one of the highest ranking generals for the royal palace here in Egypt. I can swear to you that I am here to help people in need, not harm them, if that is what you are wondering," Darius can tell that there was no use in looking for a positive response from the darker eye colored female, so he looked to the other female and found her studying him with her eyes.

"I see," the azure eyed female said. "Well, sir, I mean, general, if you can help us, then we are grateful for your assistance," Téa smiled under her cloth.

Miho could not believe what she was hearing and turned her attention on the princess. She looked back to the general and saw him smiling.

"Are you sure we can trust him, Princess?" Miho whispered into Téa's ear. Miho got her answer from the hand squeeze Téa gave her. Miho sighed deeply and softened her face a bit.

"All right, so where are you going to take us, general?" Téa asked him.

Before he could answer, the man in charge of the slave auction ran up and shoved the general aside. He grabbed Téa's arm and started to drag her. The man was stopped short when he smacked into general Darius who did not look quite pleased. Behind the general were the two soldiers, Hikaru and Toshi.

"general Darius, sorry, I did not see you there," the man apologized with a low bow. The man tried to drag Téa around the militiamen, but Darius placed his hand on the man's shoulder.

"That's all right, but I don't think you are going to be taking this young lady anywhere with you," Darius said.

"general, I don't think you understand. She is among the newest female slaves, and I can tell she has an air about her that will definitely let me get the highest pay ever," the man said.

"Sorry, but she is not coming with you. Neither lady is, just to make it clearer," Darius gently pulled Téa and Miho away from the man and shielded them behind him.

"general, if you are not going to let me sell them to the highest bidders, then are you saying that you will buy them?" the man asked.

Darius reached into his clothing and held out a bag full of money.

"Hope this is a good amount," Darius tossed the bag to the man who smiled when he looked at the content in the bag.

"Oh, it is more than enough, general. Thank you," the man bowed and went back to the slave auction platform.

Darius turned his attention to the two females. "I guess that problem is solved now. Shall we get going?"

"Where are you taking us?" Téa asked.

"To the royal palace," Darius said with a smile.

"Don't worry, ma'am, general Darius is a good man and would never lie," Hikaru said to assure Téa and Miho of their concern of the three strangers, even though he doubted they would understand the Egyptian language.

"Yes, ma'am, we promise we won't hurt you in any kind of way, so please just follow us to the palace" Toshi chipped into the reassurance.

Miho still had her doubts about the three military men, but judging from Téa's features, she was sure Téa was going to listen and follow them to the palace.

"You said you were going to help, and you did just a moment ago with the situation concerning the gentleman in charge of the slave auction. We are very grateful for that. I think you can head onto wherever you are going, for my companion and I are going to leave this place once we have a boat that takes us back to Greece," Téa told the three men.

Téa took hold of Miho's arm and steered themselves away, but Darius grasped Téa's arm.

"I can tell that you want to leave this place, but let me just warn you that it is dangerous for two females to travel alone when during this time of season, many bandits from foreign lands are hijacking ships and taking all the women as slaves. Who knows where you might end up if you board a ship back to Greece. Why don't you come to the palace and tell us your situation, so we can help you get back to your homeland," Darius suggested.

"If you are willing to help us get back to our country, then what about the other women who are falling victims to slavery as we were bound to be if you had not helped us?" Téa replied back.

"Well…" Darius was speechless. Most women would be happy to have men rescue them, but this particular Greek female was not. She seemed to care more for the welfare of her own species and would have endure the same fate as them had he not helped her.

"Thank you for your concern, general, but we have to get going," Téa and Miho began to walk away.

Darius sighed and turned to Hikaru and Toshi with a nod. The two knew what he meant and went up behind the two females. Toshi wrapped his arms around Miho's waist, while Hikaru had Téa's.

Miho began screaming, but her screams turned into muffles as Toshi covered her cloth-covered mouth with one of his hands.

Téa struggled against Hikaru's hold, and when she had freed one of her arms, she stabbed into the guy's stomach with her elbow. Hikaru's grasp broke, and Téa was freed. She tried to help Miho, but before she could, she was captured again. This time, a pair of stronger arms held her. One hand seized both of her wrists. Everything happened so fast that before she knew, her hands were tied up.

Darius smirked at the little vixen who was trying hard to break loose from the binding of the ribbon. He had secured the ribbon not too tightly, but sturdy enough for her not to easily untie it. He picked her up bridal style and walked toward the direction of the palace.

"Are you all right, Hikaru?" Darius asked the soldier.

"Yeah, just a minor bruise probably," Hikaru said.

"Hope it's nothing too serious. Why don't you walk with Toshi and help him keep an eye on that young lady, while I carry this one," Darius smiled down at the woman he was carrying. She struggled against him, but he ignored her, including the punches she was giving his chest.

Many bystanders looked on as the three men walked the market street with two females covered from head to toe in black clothing.

"Good day, general Darius" a young woman shouted, and in response, Darius bowed his head slightly as a greeting.

The young woman swooned from the gesture, but it was mostly due to the handsome features general Darius has. There were two other women beside who had seen the greeted nod from Darius and swooned also.

"What a lucky woman to be carried in his arms," one of the three women said.

"Definitely lucky," the woman who had greeted Darius said with a bit of jealously.

* * *

The three militiamen reached the palace's gates, and by that time, Téa had given up on fighting the man who carried her. There was no point for he won't budge a single muscle or loosen his hold on her. She tired herself out that she somehow had leaned her head to rest on his chest.

"We're here," Darius announced.

The guards at the gates opened the doors and looked at the general who was carrying a person in his arms. Darius saw the question in the guards' eyes, but did not say anything.

Hikaru and Toshi, who was still carrying Miho, followed Darius to the back of the palace, where the kitchen was.

They entered the kitchen's back door. Darius placed the Téa on the ground, but due to the long time that she was carried in his arms, her legs buckled, and she almost fell. But one strong arm wrapped itself around her back, and she was saved.

"Thank you," Téa said. She had took notice of his face back in the market place, but up close, she saw that his eyes were of grayish blue and had sandy blond hair. In the daylight, she saw that he was of a light shade of tan. Handsome was the word that came to mind with this man.

"No problem," Darius smiled as he positioned her upright correctly. He was still amazed at how beautiful her eyes were. A fascinating color she had. He suddenly remembered her tied hands, so he untied them for her.

"Sorry, hope it was not too tight on you," Darius apologized.

"No, it was not," Téa said. "But, exactly, why are we here?"

"Well, since you ladies are guests here, we thought we provide you with food, although I think the servants are out for the day or are elsewhere in the palace right now," Darius said.

"Oh, thank you," was all Téa had to say.

"By the way, my name is Darius, if you had not taken notice. Over there are Hikaru, the one you elbowed, and Toshi," Darius introduced himself and the soldiers.

"Nice to meet you. Um, sorry about before," Téa looked into the direction of the guy she elbowed earlier.

"It's all right. If I was a woman like you, I would do the same thing also," Hikaru said.

"Pleasure to meet you, miss. What is your name?" Toshi asked.

Téa and Miho exchanged a glance. Before either could say anything, there were people entering the kitchen. An elderly woman entered first, followed by a few maid servants.

"general Darius, I didn't know you were in here. Oh, who do we have here?" the elderly woman questioned as soon as she saw the two black-cloth covered figures in the kitchen.

"Oh, these ladies will be staying here for a while. I brought them here for a bite since they look like they haven't had something for hours now," Darius explained.

"All right," the woman said. "What would you like to eat, dearies?"

"Anything is fine, ma'am," Téa answered.

"How about I fix something fresh and hot for you both?" Before Téa and Miho could answer, the woman was busy, running around the kitchen to whip up something for the girls to eat.

"If you don't mind, I will leave them in your hands, Mrs. Ebe," Darius said.

"No, I don't mind," Mrs. Ebe smiled. "Oh, it seemed we're short on two dancers for the ceremony tonight, so the Pharaoh asked me to send you out on a search for substitutes. And, one of them has to be a fast learner if she is to be the main lead."

"Where is general Darius going to find two dancers in time for the ceremony, and to top that have them, especially the main one, learn the dance quickly enough?" Toshi asked.

To everyone's surprise, Téa answered.

"I don't think you need to look far. My companion and I are dancers, so hope you don't mind giving us a chance to help out in retribution to you saving us, general," Téa said.

* * *

Hope readers enjoy the chapter. This won't be updated for a while since I have other fanfictions I should work on, but I just could not resist on releasing this one. It is one of many Azureshipping stories I have in my document at the moment, and the only one I have finish chapter 1 for. Hopefully, I will finish the other stories soon, so I can focus on this more :)


	2. Chapter 2

Here is chapter 2. Hope readers did not wait too long. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Chapter 2**

Everyone looked at the female clad in black clothing. Téa saw everyone looking at her and felt her cheeks flushed with heat.

"Is there a problem, general?" Téa directed her question at Darius.

Darius searched for an answer from Mrs. Ebe. He got his answer by her approving eyes. "You are welcome to be a part in the dance. I think the only concern is whether you are able to be ready for it all by the evening."

"That will be no problem, general," Téa said with a bit of excitement in her voice. "Should we get started?"

"But, my dear, don't you think you should have a bite before practicing?" Mrs. Ebe asked worriedly.

"That is all right, madam. We will be all right," Téa smile under her mouth-covered veil. Téa grabbed hold of Miho's hand, and looked in Darius's direction.

Darius strolled to the doorway that connected the kitchen to the rest of the palace. His two soldiers followed. Téa and Miho also followed, but Mrs. Ebe stopped them from going any further. She moved closely to the two women and held out two fairly stomach-filling pieces of bread.

"Take them, my dears." Mrs. Ebe smiled. She placed one piece in each of their hand. "Like I tell everyone around here, you need to fill your stomach, so you can muster all the energy you need." She placed a hand over Téa's abdomen, and quickly as possible, as if she had burned herself, removed her hand.

"Oh my," Mrs. Ebe said. The petite elderly woman looked into Téa's eyes with some emotion that Téa could not make out. Was it concern? Was it fear? It must have been something shocking because from what Téa could see, the woman was pretty shook up.

"Is something wrong, Mrs. Ebe?" Miho asked.

Mrs. Ebe returned from her trance and faintly smiled. "Oh, no, nothing is wrong. I was just surprised that your friend has such a tight abdomen. I remember I used to have such a flat stomach, but now look at me. I am older and plump," Mrs. Ebe said with a laugh.

"Anyway, you should get going. All of you," Mrs. Ebe shooed everyone into the hallway and went back to work in the kitchen. "What an aura that one has."

* * *

Téa and Miho were the last ones behind the group and were keeping quite a distance between themselves and the others.

The two young women looked around the palace as they walked. The place was huge; the ceiling was high above their heads, much like the sky they lived under; the floor was covered with a long red carpet that had gold trims at the sides; the walls were of smooth, creamy stone texture with pictures hanging on them once in a while; and the columns that supported the whole architecture were tall and massive with Egyptian hieroglyphs carved into them.

"Are we going to need to carry you to the dance room?" Darius asked and stretched out his arms to steady Téa from walking into him.

Téa looked at him and apologized for not watching where she is going. Darius chuckled at the woman's sincerity and explained there was no need for the apology.

Everyone continued on with the walk to the dance room. Two big-muscled guards stood outside the room. They opened the doors for everyone to enter.

Inside the room were dancers, costume designer, and the dance teacher. The female dance teacher looked in the direction of the doors and saw the rest of the dance crew coming in, along with general Darius, Toshi and Hikaru, and two persons dressed in dark clothing from head to toe.

general Darius gave a quick smile to Jamila, the dance teacher. She responded with a smile of her own.

"Why! What is the special occasion of having you visit me during this time of day, general? Could it be that Mrs. Ebe sent you here to talk with me about the ceremony tonight?" Jamila asked.

"Yes, she did," Darius replied.

"Well, she must have told you that I needed two dancers, and from what I can see you have only presented yourself, two of your soldiers and two mysterious strangers."

"There was no need to look far, as this lady here announced that she and her companion are dancers. So, here you have it, Jamila, your two substituting dancers."

Jamila looked over at the two mysterious figures. She walked up to them and observed. The taller of the two had magnificent cerulean blue eyes, and the other had ebony blue eyes with just as much spark to them as the other person.

"Your names are…" Jamila questioned with her eyes.

"My name is Téa, and this here is Miho," the Greek Princess said. Téa took a look at Jamila and saw that the woman was at least in her thirties, aging beautifully. Jamila had short cropped light brown hair with chocolate brown eyes. She was about the same height as Téa, slightly a bit taller.

Darius smirked secretly. _'So her name is Téa, huh?'_

"Nice to meet you, Téa and Miho. As you can already figure out, my name is Jamila, and over there is the costume designer and housekeeper, Mrs. Miu," the Egyptian dance teacher smiled.

After the introductions were made, Darius and his soldiers went away, leaving the two females in the company of Jamila, Mrs. Miu and the dancers. For the first time, Téa and Miho took off the hood that covered their head and half of their face, except for the eyes. Jamila and Mrs. Miu inhaled a silent gasp. By the look of exchange between the two, they both silently agreed in their head that both were pretty with their pale skin in contrast to their dark hair and blue-shaded eyes, but Téa was the exotic fruit in the land of Egypt.

Jamila suggested Téa and Miho learn the dance before trying on the costumes. Téa and Miho had no problem following the dance, even if it was their first time doing an Egyptian dance as they explained to Jamila.

Dance teacher Jamila was satisfied with what she saw. She had seen many dancers over her eighteen year of experience, but never once had she saw one so talented as the one before her eyes. Téa, the taller of the two, certainly knew what she was doing; and Miho was just as talented as Téa was.

Jamila exclaimed they were wonderful dancers and decided the position for them. There were other dancers Jamila could have placed as the main lead, but she needed someone energetic and passionate for the dance, and Téa was just the person for the job. Miho was placed perfectly with the rest of the dancers (this is rather harshly done since it comes off as if Miho and the rest of the dancers are second best, so my apologies, but we all know Téa is one heck of a dancer).

As for the costumes, Mrs. Miu measured crazily back and forth between Téa and Miho. Mrs. Miu had the right size for Miho (a strapless dress with slits on the sides that ended near the undergarment) in a matter of seconds, but Téa was a bit more difficult. For one thing, the girl had a body any girl in the room would die for. It was neither an easy nor hard task, but in a few minutes, Mrs. Miu had the costume hugging every curve Téa presented on her body.

Mrs. Miu stood back to admire her masterpiece. Téa wore a two piece dress, both of made out of silk, but the top was less revealing than the skirt. The top was cropped to fit perfectly over her breasts and ending underneath them. It was supported by a strap that encircled Téa's neck and stitched to the border of the top. Her lower half was covered by a long transparent skirt that revealed the undergarment that curved her buttocks. The skirt had a slit on each side that reached up to the end of her undergarment. Mrs. Miu was very proud of her work. She was amazed at how beautifully the costume fitted Téa.

Jamila was amazed at the handiwork Mrs. Miu did. There was no doubt in Jamila's mind that Téa was perfect for the main lead. Jamila clapped her hands to gather everyone around so she can go over a few details for the ceremony. After that was done, all the dancers practiced for a couple of times before the event starts.

* * *

_**Meanwhile somewhere else in the palace…**_

A man sat in a chair with his eyes closed. He had an opened book lay out before him on the table, where all of his works are contained. The book was opened to a page about Egyptian myths and folktales.

Priest Seto opened his eyes, but could still feel his body heating up. He inhaled a sharp breath of air, but it did nothing to calm him. He slumped back in his chair. Seto had no idea what was happening to him lately.

A month earlier, he was fine. He had been a workaholic for most his life, always devoting himself in his work, but that all changed when a strange and unclear dream occurred. It was something he never experience before. There were many, if not all, people in the palace that had different theories on dreams and what they mean. He could ask anyone about it, but being the non-believer that he is, he holds back his tongue.

Even if he had not said anything, the cook, Mrs. Ebe, was good at deciphering auras and emotions. Not only was she good at it, but she had the special ability to feel the future. One of the other priests, Priestess Ishizu had somewhat of the same ability as Mrs. Ebe, but she sees the future, although they were not always clear and right on target, through the power of her Millennium Necklace.

He was walking in the hallway a few days earlier when he saw the cook, Mrs. Ebe, holding a tray of food and heading toward the way he was going from. She smiled at him when she saw him. He nodded as a gesture of acknowledgment.

"You look like you could use some of my herbal tea to help sleep better, Seto," Mrs. Ebe said.

Seto was amazed at how well she knew of his predicament. Even from far away, she could sense his disturbed aura. When she got closer to him, she placed her small hand on his arm.

"Get some rest, dear. You don't want to waste all your energy. If you do, how else will you attend the ceremony the coming night after tomorrow?" She continued on her walk, as did Seto.

He drank Mrs. Ebe's herbal tea that night, and it helped him sleep a bit.

Now on the day, a few hours before the ceremony, he was sitting in his working room, and the heat was stirring again in his body. He closed his eyes tightly. Suddenly a pair of hands covered his already-closed eyes.

"Miss me?" a seductive voice whispered near his ear.

Seto removed the hands away from his eyes, urgently and gently. He stood up and turned around to face the person.

"Shouldn't you be in the dance room, rehearsing?" Seto asked.

"Yeah, but Jamila and Mrs. Miu are busy, ogling their eyes out at the two substitute dancers to even notice. Plus, I told Serenity if they ask where I was, I am freshening up," the woman, Rose, wrapped her arms around Seto's neck, much to his annoyance.

"So, answer my question. Did you miss me?" She stood upon her toes to give him a kiss, but Seto was not responsive, even if his maleness below suggested otherwise.

"Go back before you get in trouble," Seto unwrapped her arms around his neck.

Rose was not going to give up easily. "But I miss you, and I can see you are not getting much done since you have other things on your mind," she smiled seductively, reaching out to touch him, but Seto stopped her.

"Just leave, Rose," Seto said with a hint of anger.

Rose frowned and took her leave. Seto sat back in his chair and sighed. Rose was one of maids in the palace. She along with other maids, were also dancers. They have been trained by the talented Jamila, and in some cases, Mrs Miu. Rose was neither a concubine nor a mistress in Seto's mind. She was just a female body he fed upon when he needed to release his urges. Lately, there had been more sexual activities than usual since the day of his dream.

Seto closed his eyes once again and napped uncomfortably with heat blazing through his body.

"Ready?" A voice whispered.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The figures took a quiet step further to the room. The door was opened ajar, and the two peeked inside. They saw Rose leaving and knew he was in the room, even if the quiet atmosphere indicated otherwise.

They took one step in the room, and Seto's voice said, "What are you two up to now?"

They tried to hide, but there was no place for them to hide. They could have run, but Noah was standing behind Mokuba, so if they were to run abruptly, Mokuba would just trip over Noah anyway, like many times before.

Mokuba and Noah lifted their heads and saw Seto standing before them. They smiled sheepishly at Seto.

"Um, nothing," both said to their eldest brother. They turn around to walk out, but bumped into Darius and Ishizu. The four people exchanged smiles.

"Look like we caught you in the right time. The ceremony is about to begin," Ishizu announced.

Seto nodded his head and walked past the four without a word. Darius followed Seto.

"Mokuba and Noah, you guys come with me," Ishizu told the two younger boys. The three walked in the direction of where the ceremony was being held.

Darius caught up with Seto and smirked. He had known Seto since childhood and knew what a hard guy Seto was. Seto was difficult to get close due to his serious nature, but that did not stop Darius from trying to be good friends with him. He still remembered the first time he came to the palace and met everyone.

* * *

_(flashback)_

Darius was 10 years old when he was brought in the palace by Mrs. Ebe. Two years back, Darius lost his parents to bandits raiding his small village and wiping it off the face of Egypt. Darius was lucky to survive the vicious attack; his mother hid him and his younger brother, Hikaru, in the secret underground basement of their hut. When the place quieted, Darius carefully peeked out to see the result. The sight before him still horrifies him to this very day. Dead bodies lay lifelessly, covered by the sand.

He took his brother's hand and started walking away from their childhood home. All the while, he kept an eye out for his parents' bodies. Hikaru tripped over something. Darius heard an eerie scream coming from his brother. He looked over his shoulder, and his eyes widened at the sight. A dead body caused Hikaru to trip and fall, but that was not what scared him. To Hikaru's right was another dead body, and he was face to face with the lifeless person. That was the reason for Hikaru's scream. He came to face to face with their mother's lifeless eyes. Darius came over and pulled his younger brother to his feet, trying to calm him down from the sudden fright of discovering their dead mother.

The next few days were nightmarish. Two little orphan boys starved of hunger. To add to that, they stumbled across another village that fell to the same fate as theirs did to the bandits. Darius and Hikaru kept out of sight, hiding behind bushes, and endured the horrid screams and sounds of swords slashing the flesh. When everything stilled, they ran as far as their little legs could take them. The two boys found their way into the main village. Darius kept himself and his brother alive by living the way any other orphan would. They lied, tricked, and thieved. Darius knew it was not an honest way to live, but when one's options were limited, there was nothing one can do but take the obvious route. They lived their life like this for the next two years.

One day, Darius caught sight of a woman and a maid shopping. He told Hikaru to stay put while he goes and steals food from the lady's basket.

Darius accidentally on purpose bumped into the woman while maneuvering a sneaky way to get a loaf of bread from her basket. He apologized and walked on, taking a short cut that led him back to the alleyway where his brother was waiting for him.

Darius divided the bread in half. The two brothers ate hungrily in the alley, and then two figures stood before them. Darius looked up to see the woman he stole the bread from. He quickly hid his food and nudged for Hikaru to do the same.

"Don't you know it is wrong to steal food from others?" the maid accused the two boys. Hikaru lowered his head in shame. The woman placed her hand on the girl's arm to calm her down.

"I see you are enjoying the loaf of bread," the woman said with a motherly smile. "Why don't you come with me? I will make you some hot and fresh food. I am sure a loaf of bread is not going to help you get through the day, right?"

Darius and Hikaru followed cautiously. Darius was smart enough not to believe that a stranger would be so nice to help orphans, since he lived on the streets and saw the treatment other kids like him get from upper class people. But something about the woman's smile made him trust her words.

When they reached the woman's home, Darius and Hikaru could not believe their eyes. The place was huge and well guarded. Darius knew this place to be the one and only royal palace where the Pharaoh occupies. They entered the kitchen through the back door, and the woman prepared some warm food for the two brothers to eat.

During their meal, the woman introduced herself as Mrs. Ebe, the head cook and maid in the palace.

"Thank you for the food, madam," Darius said. Hikaru followed his lead and said the same thing.

Something had been nagging Darius in the back of his mind, so he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you—?"

"Know you were the one stealing the loaf of bread, but more importantly where I knew you would be hiding?" Mrs. Ebe finished for him. Darius nodded his head.

"It does not take a genius to figure out since you were the only that bumped into me, so immediately you are the suspect. As for your hiding place, let's just say I have always been a good seeker," she said and gave him a wink.

When they finished eating, Mrs. Ebe suggested the two boys wash themselves up. Darius and Hikaru had some warm water brought into a small room where the tub was. Darius helped his brother and himself freshen up. When they came back, Mrs. Ebe looked please at the clean sight of the brothers.

"Now, to introduce you to the Pharaoh," Mrs. Ebe said.

Darius felt a panic rise in him and asked nervously, "Are you going to tell him of our crime?"

"Oh no, silly. I just want to let him know that you two will be under my care and hope that you two get the education like the rest of the boys here," Mrs. Ebe began to walk away, and so the two brothers followed.

They came to the room where the Pharaoh was. The two guards nodded in Mrs. Ebe's direction. They opened the doors, and the Pharaoh looked up to see who was coming in. The strict looking Pharaoh smiled at the entrance of Mrs. Ebe and curiously eyed the two young boys following her.

"Mrs. Ebe, what is the honor of this visit?" Pharaoh Aknamkanon asked.

"Oh, nothing big, just wanted to let you know that these two boys will be under my care and hope that they get the necessary education like the rest of the boys here," Mrs. Ebe said.

"You are most welcome to do so, Mrs. Ebe, without my permission. I know you have a good judge of character," the Pharaoh turned his attention to the two youngsters. "Now, what are your names?"

"My name is Darius, your highness, and this is my little brother, Hikaru," Darius answered the question.

The Pharaoh nodded at the two brothers and asked a couple of more questions on what happened to them. Darius answered the questions and talked about the incident of his village. Mrs. Ebe and the Pharaoh did not seem to be too surprised at the turn of events that occurred.

The doors opened and in came a young boy a bit older than Darius. The boy had black hair with red and yellow highlights, and violet eyes. He was slightly tanned compared to Darius and Hikaru. The boy was introduced as Atem, the future Pharaoh of Egypt.

Next, Darius and Hikaru followed Mrs. Ebe to another room where a bunch of people dressed in white Egyptian-material robes occupied. There were six of them, each accessorizing, as Mrs. Ebe called the Pharaoh's pyramid triangle, a Millennium item.

The Pharaoh possessed the Millennium Puzzle, which held the power to all of the Millennium items. The Pharaoh's younger twin brother, Akhenaden, owned the Millennium Eye, allowing him to read people's minds and see things through their eyes. One priest had the Millennium Ring, the compass of the Millennium items, which gave him the power to seek things out. The Millennium Scale had the ability to weigh a person's heart against the feather of Ma'at, the goddess of truth. If a person lied while being interrogated by the owner of the scale, or is revealed to be truly evil, the side opposite of the feather will lower, as if weighted down by the person's sins, and if the side without the feather dropped to the bottom, the person's soul will be sucked into the depths of the Shadow Realms. Shimon Muran, Atem's mentor, had the Millennium Key, the access to the "Room of the Soul," where the thoughts can be observed or redecorated (altering a person's personality). The Millennium Rod granted the holder the power of bending the wills of others through mind control, and also let its user telepathically communicate with his servants. A priestess owned the Millennium Necklace which gave her the power to see into the future, excluding those who hold one of the Millennium items.

These six Egyptian priests were the protectors of the Millennium items, but some unfortunate events led to the next generation of trained priests to take guard.

Darius and Hikaru already met Atem and knew he was to hold the power of the Millennium Puzzle. Next, the two brothers met Seto, Mokuba, and Noah. They were the children of Priest Akhenaden. Seto was a priest in training, clearly destined to become one of the Sacred Guardians who guard the Millennium items.

* * *

Darius had an interesting first meeting with Seto. Darius and some other boys were playing a game when he spotted Seto alone in the garden with a small pond nearby. Seto threw some rocks fiercely into the water. Darius went up to him and asked what was wrong. Seto told him off, but Darius would not leave. Seto shouted that he wanted to be left alone and took a punch at Darius. Darius was shocked, but quickly recovered and was mad. He wondered what Seto's problem was. Darius got back at him by giving him a punch in return. They fought and wrestled on the ground until both parties were tired out. They sat a fair distance from each other when the fight ended. Darius and Seto caught up with their breathing, and they remained quiet for the rest of the time they were together.

The hour was late, and Darius knew he had to get going since Mrs. Ebe had a curfew. He stood up and left, expecting the kid to apologize and be friendly, but he just sat there, staring off into space. Mrs. Ebe was flabbergasted in a calm state at the sight of a dirty and bruised Darius. He told her of his situation with a boy in the garden, and the answer he got from her was, "Ah, I see you have met Seto". Darius learned that Seto is Mokuba and Noah's, two younger boys around Hikaru's age he met a few days previously, older brother, which meant that the three were Priest Akhenaden's children. Mrs. Ebe said Seto has a serious nature, and Darius should not take it to heart about the first meeting with him because Seto rarely makes friends with people, but he and Atem are close since they are cousins. Darius nodded to Mrs. Ebe's advice and after a lot of thinking he decided to have a friendship with the difficult Seto, young priest in training.

It took a while, but the more Darius "forced" his presence into Seto's un-socializing life, Seto slowly began to warm up to the friendship. Once Darius saw the signal that Seto accepted his friendship, he felt accomplished. During the time he tried to convince Seto that he wanted them to be friends, he observed that Seto's serious nature included cold glares, short sentences with few, harsh and straight forward words, and observant of things around him. When they became friends, Darius gave him his space since he noticed that many times Seto likes to be alone in the garden, his quiet haven as Mokuba likes to call it. But as they grew older, Seto took a liking to be more alone in his working room than the garden. Although, Seto does not participate much in the friendship, Darius knew there a few times Seto helped him in a time of need.

* * *

Darius met other priests in training, including young Ishizu, Shada, Mahado, and Karim. The four latter were a bit older than Darius, ranging from three to five years.

The day Mrs. Ebe took Darius and his brother in was also during the time a war broke out between the Northern and Southern regions of Egypt. The Pharaoh and priests did their best to help out, but the only sole survivor of it all was Priest Akhenaden. So, for the next 8 years, the young Atem reigned over Egypt with the help of his uncle Akhenaden and newly organized advisers. Nearing the age of seventeen, Darius saw the organization of the Sacred Guardians, which included Priest Akhenaden, holder of the Millennium Eye; Priest Shada, owner of the Millennium Key; Priest Mahado, the one who controls the Millennium Ring; Priest Karim possesses the Millennium Scale; Priestess Ishizu owns the Millennium Necklace; and young Priest Seto, the user of the Millennium Rod. The Millennium Puzzle passed down from the late Pharaoh Aknamkanon to the young Atem.

The peace under Atem's reign did not last forever since not long after he officially became Pharaoh of Egypt at the age of eighteen, a misfortune erupted. The holy priest held a ceremony to crown the new Pharaoh, but someone had other thoughts. Priest Akhenaden was brainwashed to believe that his son, Priest Seto, should have been the new Pharaoh. The other priests, along with Atem, used the power from their Millennium items to set free the mind of Akhenaden, and the mind-controller was forced to leave the body of Akhenaden, but not before he destroyed the mind and soul of his puppet. When the attack was over, all that was left was the dead body of Priest Akhenaden.

Everyone thought the nightmare was over, but it was not. The mind-controller was back for more. This time, he took control of Priest Seto. The situation led to the duel of the Shadow Realms between Atem and Seto. In order to finish up the battle without anyone getting hurt, Atem sealed away his alternate soul deep inside his Millennium Puzzle, while Seto was set free from the mind control with the help of a girl named Kisara, who had the power of Blue Eyes White Dragon in her.

After the battle, everything went back to somewhat of its normal state.

Atem continued his rule over Egypt, and a few months before his nineteenth birthday, he got married. His marriage was to Neferti, a long time childhood female friend. Their marriage had been arranged before the time of their birth. It was a happy celebrated ceremony between the two.

As for Seto, he busied himself into his work. Darius was worried at first and warned Seto about his health, but was reassured by Mokuba that Seto knew what he was doing.

_(end of flashback)_

* * *

"So, excited for tonight, Seto?" Darius strike up a conversation.

Seto merely walked on without answering. Darius was used to this brush off, so he did not press on any further. They walked in silence.

They came out into the big open area where the guests were arriving. The Pharaoh stood in the middle among the crowd with Hikaru and Toshi guarding him. Seto and Darius headed toward their direction, greeting guests they knew as they passed by.

"Nice of you to finally show your face, Seto," Atem said jokingly.

Seto grunted in reply.

"Look like someone didn't get enough sleep, eh?" Toshi playfully jabbed his elbow into Darius's stomach, who smirked.

When all the guests have arrived, they entered into the hall where the ceremony for Atem's twins' one month birth takes place.

And so the ceremony began…

* * *

All right, so that is it for chapter 2. I know the ending was a bit weak, but overall, hope readers enjoy the chapter :) The next chapter won't be up until maybe late November since I am going back and forth between writing this story and another one.


	3. Chapter 3

All right, that took about the correct time I predicted to be done with this chapter. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3 **

The ceremony began, and everything went smoothly according to schedule.

The Queen Neferti walked up to Seto. "Seto," she said. He nodded in acknowledgment. "Sorry to be a bother, but you don't mind helping me find Juda, do you? That little boy keeps on wandering off. I don't know how I can keep an eye out on him now that there are the twins to care for."

Mokuba, having heard the favor Neferti asked of Seto, walked over to the two and said, "That will be no problem, Neferti. Seto and I will be happy to go look for Juda." Mokuba smiled at the Queen.

"That would be Queen Neferti to you, Mokuba," Seto said to his brother.

"Oh, nothing to scold Mokuba for, Seto. Besides you know I am not comfortable with my friends calling and bowing to me because of my title," Neferti explained.

"Yes, Seto, lighten up, would you?" Darius said who was followed by Noah.

Seto sighed. "We'll go look for Juda now, your highness."

Neferti frowned as Seto walked away from the group. "How many times do I have to tell him before it sticks in his head?" she asked.

"It probably ever won't, Neferti. It's just in his nature to respect, whether he really means it or not, those with higher status than him, whether they are his friends or foes," Mokuba said to Neferti.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt him to at least treat me like a human being rather than a Queen. Anyway, why don't you guys go help him?"

The three followed in Seto's footsteps and began searching for the young Prince Juda. Once leaving the main hall, they split up into two groups – Mokuba with Noah, and Seto with Darius.

* * *

A little boy raced through the empty hallway, laughing heartily. Young Prince Juda was having fun for the first time in the entire day. He was busy because his mother was fussing over the clothes he needed to wear for the ceremony in the morning. Now, with just a little time to spare, he managed to sneak away and go to his secret hiding place to let Lucky, a stray puppy he found, out.

Lucky was chasing after him. He shouted the dog's name, and Lucky seemed to run more quickly and energetically with the encouraging tone coming from Juda. Since Juda turned to call out to Lucky, he did not see the figure coming his way.

The person gently held on to Juda's shoulders, so he would not crash into her. Juda looked up and saw a lady – a beautiful lady in his opinion. In his so-called five years of life, Juda only had eyes on his mother, who he thought was the most beautiful woman in the world. Nobody could compare to his mama. After all, she was Queen. Why else would his father marry her, he always thought.

But this lady was different. Sure her skin was a bit fairer compared to his mama, but nonetheless it was the right shade on her. She had milk chocolate brown hair and blue eyes. He liked her eyes the most. They were of a light blue shade. They reminded him of the sea.

Téa was walking down the hallway, on her way back to the dance room when she heard laughter. She turned a corner and saw a boy with a little puppy running after him. The little boy called the puppy Lucky. He was busy looking behind that he did not notice Téa. He almost clashed into her, but she steadied him with her hands on his shoulders.

He looked up at her, and she couldn't help but think to herself what a cute little boy he was. He certainly was tanned like most of the men around the palace, although not too dark. He had light brown curly hair, which Téa just found adorable on him, since it went well with his round baby face and big honey brown eyes. Téa figured he couldn't have been more than six years old.

She smiled at him, in which he returned with a toothless grin. She chuckled a bit at the sight.

"Hello there," she said.

"Hi," he said shyly.

The puppy slowed down its pace and sniffed around Téa's feet. Téa crouched down to pet the creature.

"Well, hi there. What's your name?" Téa asked as she scratched the itchy spot behind Lucky's ear.

"His name is Lucky," Juda said enthusiastically with his cute silly grin still in place.

"Well, Lucky certainly is lucky to have such a cute boy like you to play with him," Téa said.

"I do as best I can to play with him when I have time since mama does not allow me to have any pet," Juda explained with a frown.

"Why doesn't she?"

"I can't remember word for word why she doesn't, but it's somewhere along the line that I am a kid and am not old enough like a grown-up to take care of a pet."

Téa smiled. For a boy this young, he understood his mother's wishes, but still curious and rebellious enough about the unknown world to clandestinely disobey his mother. Why else would he secretly play with the puppy, Téa thought.

Juda also squatted down to pet Lucky on his head and smiling like any five year would when he has a pet to play with. Téa couldn't help but stare at the image of the little boy with his puppy.

"So do you have a name?" Téa asked since she will be staying here at the palace for God knows how long. She had not decided when she would leave (Miho kept on pestering her with the departure question), but Téa knew she is going to need more than a day. The whole land of Egypt had certainly captured her interest, excluding the part where she and Miho were almost sold on the slave market.

"My name is Juda," Juda said with a bit of concern. "You're not going to do something bad to me, are you? Mama told me not to talk to strangers, but I don't think you are a bad person."

"Your mama is a smart woman. But what makes you say that that I am not a bad person?" Téa asked.

"Your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Yes. I like the color blue. It's my favorite. Your color reminds me of the sea when the sun sets on it," Juda said with his grin.

Téa definitely won't ever forget that cute grin he flashes at her. She made a photographic memory of it.

She chuckled and said, "My, aren't you the poet. Thank you for the compliment."

"You're welcome. I like your eyes better than I like his," Juda said.

"Better than whom?"

"My godfather."

"Why do you think that way, about his eyes and mine, that is?"

"His blue is darker than yours, like the color of underwater. The color gives off a cold appearance, like his personality," Juda said and shivered at the image of his godfather drawn in his head.

"He can't be that bad," Téa insisted, even though she does not know the kid's godfather. Speaking of blue eyes, her mind transported to a pair of certain grayish blue eyes she encountered hours earlier in the kitchen. Realizing what she was thinking of, she shook the image away.

"He isn't, but he is a hard person to get close to and be playful with," Juda explained.

Before Téa could say anything else, a voice called out Juda's name. Téa got up and said she better gets going.

"It was nice to meet you, Juda," Téa said and waved goodbye as she walked away.

Juda waved back, realizing that he didn't ask for her name after she turned the corner.

"Juda, where have you been?" Darius asked with Seto following behind him.

Juda looked up at Darius and his godfather, Seto. He always got nervous around his godfather; the man was strict looking and intimidating.

"Who do we have here?" Darius picked up Lucky and scratched behind the puppy's ear. Lucky closed his eyes in contentment and cuddled against Darius.

"His name's Lucky," Juda said.

"I see." Darius continued to scratch the puppy's ear. Juda smiled at how happy Lucky was.

"We better get back to the ceremony," Seto said and began to depart.

"There you are," Mokuba exclaimed when he turned the corner with Noah not far behind. Seeing Seto walk on ahead, the rest of crew followed.

Darius picked up Juda in his arms and paced his steps a few feet behind the three males in front of him.

Juda rested his head on Darius's broad shoulder and whispered, "I saw a very pretty lady, uncle Darius."

Darius looked at the little boy and smiled. "Really? What did she look like?"

"She has pretty eyes, blue like the sea. Lucky seemed to like her," Juda said, petting Lucky's head.

"Did she ask you any question?" Darius asked.

"My name."

"Did you tell her?" Darius got his answer from the nod of Juda's head. He sighed. "Didn't your parents tell you not to talk to strangers?"

Another nod. "But she was nice," Juda said.

"Anybody can act and look nice, Juda, but you can never be too easy in trusting people you just met, understand?"

"Yes, sir." Darius chuckled and stroked the boy's curly hair.

They got back to the main hall just in time for the performances to begin. There were performers who blew fire out of their mouths, others who performed acrobatic forms, some magic in between, and lastly there were the long awaited dancers.

Juda seated himself beside Darius, clapping and giggling at the entertainment presented before him. Darius was looking forward to the dancers, especially one with cerulean blue eyes.

The servants dimmed down the candle lights a bit, and the room was swallowed in almost total darkness. A number of robed figures moved on the empty floor. Several were holding big leaf-shaped fans that emitted a gold color in place of the lack of lighting.

The dancers raised their hands in a graceful movement that some followed up with a cartwheel. Elegantly toned legs danced in the air as a few others flexed backward. The main dancer swayed her hips from one side to the other in a rhythmic beating of the music.

Slowly, the lights returned, and the dancers swung open their robes, revealing barely-clothed well-built bodies that shaped perfectly within their dresses.

From left to right, twists and turns, shaking and swaying their bodies to the music, the dancers displayed their talent through the sophisticatedly form of dance.

Everyone loudly clapped at the performance. Darius smirked to himself as he watched the dancers take their bow, keeping his eyes specifically on Téa. He felt a nudge on his left arm. He bent down to Juda's level, so he can hear what the young prince has to say.

"That's her, uncle Darius," Juda giggled as he clapped for the dancers.

It took a moment for Darius to realize who Juda was talking about. Right, the female stranger Juda talked to earlier, Darius reminded himself.

"Where is she?" Darius asked. Juda pointed at the group of dancers. "Which one would she be?"

"The lead of the dance," Juda answered. Darius looked back at the brunette hair with amazing blue eyes female. He looked back down at Juda and let out a heartily laugh.

"Oh, well if this isn't a coincidence, I don't know what is," Darius said.

"What's a coincidence, uncle Darius?"

"It's just that I befriended that lady friend of yours just today."

"Really?" Darius nodded. Juda's smile grew bigger. "What's her name, uncle Darius?"

"Téa," Darius said.

* * *

The ceremony went on with guests enjoying their meals and talking with one another. The after-math excitement filled the grand hall with a lively atmosphere.

Neferti quietly drew Jamila away from the loud room to an empty area behind the throne.

"That was a wonderful performance as usual, Jamila," Neferti complimented to her longtime older friend and dance mentor.

"Oh pooh, it was not just me who choreographed the dance, Neferti. The credit also goes to Mrs. Miu for her talent in creating the movements and outfits."

"Oh, speaking of outfits, those were simply magnificent, especially the main lead's. By the way, who was she?" Neferti asked, referring to Téa.

"A foreign girl Darius picked up," Jamila said with a shrug, while Neferti stood with her index finger tapping her chin, thinking.

"Oh could she—"

"Before you begin, Neferti, the possibility is no," Jamila crossed her arms.

"Think about it, Jamila. Wouldn't it be the greatest love story of all time?" Neferti clasped her hands together with dreamy eyes.

Jamila rolled her eyes. Neferti is all too naïve in the name of love as usual, she thought. "Neferti, again, there is no possible way that any instant encounter between a man and woman could lead to a love relationship."

"But yours and General Kail's love story began the instant you guys met. A bit similar to Atem and me."

"That different, Neferti. You and Atem have been friends for a long time. Your marriage to each other was arranged since childhood. You can say it is destiny or fate that you and Atem married, or simply that it was all for the better alliance of the two powerful noble bloodlines. But somewhere in between it all, you two fell in love with each other whether it was intentional or accidental. As for me and Kail, that's a story for another time."

"I know all that, Jamila, but you, like me, care for Darius's happiness. You and I both know that Darius needs a strong woman to stand by him through all the rough times."

"Yes, I know that. You, Darius, and Hikaru have been my family ever since I came to the palace. I look after you guys like any older sibling would to the younger ones. I want to see all of you happy. You, Neferti, have found your happiness and place with Atem. Darius and Hikaru have yet to find theirs. It is all in a matter of time, Neferti. Don't interfere in something that might not work out," Jamila explained.

Neferti sighed. "You know, you always ruin the fun, Jamila. No, I take that back. You always ruin the fun after you became a married woman and mother. Where has the free-spirited and spunky Jamila gone?"

"What are you talking about? My free-spirit and spunk has not gone anywhere. I am still the same old Jamila. Just that I have grown up and matured. You, on the other hand, are the wife of the Pharaoh, Queen of Egypt, and a mother of three, yet you still daydream of fairy tale romances," she said with a laugh. "Come on, I am sure your husband misses your presence beside him."

The two women walked back out to the lively atmosphere of the party. Neferti poked Jamila in the arm and pointed to a certain area of the room. They spotted Darius talking with Téa. The Queen of Egypt turned to her longtime friend with a mischievous smile and star-struck twinkling eyes. Jamila shook in her head, sighed, and followed the young Queen.

Nearing the two targets of her quest, Neferti did not see her young son talking with them until he called out 'Mama'. He raced up to her and wrapped his little arms around the lower part of her legs for a hug.

"Juda, how many times have I told you to be polite and excuse yourself before leaving the midst of a conversation?" Neferti asked her son, but returned his hug nonetheless.

"Sorry, Mama, but I was happy to see you," Juda said. He released his grasp on her legs and bowed gentlemanly at Jamila.

Jamila playfully returned the gesture with a princessly bow, offering her hand to Juda. The little boy kissed the top of her hand and smiled in a way he thought was a smirk. Jamila laughed and said, "My, what a gentleman you have here, Neferti. Juda, my darling, shall we dance?"

"Why yes, my lady. May I be excused, Mama and uncle Darius?" Juda asked just like his mother advised him to.

Darius and Neferti exchanged a glance and laugh. "Yes, you are excused."

"Thank you. I will talk to you another time, Téa," Juda said and waved goodbye. Téa waved back, thinking how much cuter could the little boy get.

With Juda gone, Neferti turned her attention to the foreign, exotic young woman before her and said, "You must excuse my son for being impolite."

"That is quite all right. He is an adorable boy. Certainly bright for his age," Téa said.

"Thank you, but he can be such a troublemaker from time to time. I think Darius have told you about me, but we haven't been formally introduced. I am—"

"Queen Neferti of Egypt," Téa finished for her and bowed gracefully at the Queen.

"Yes, that's me. Although, you can drop the 'Queen' part. I don't like it when my friends call my name with that title in front," Neferti said with a smile. "And your name is?"

"My name is Téa, your highness," said Téa.

"Or anything remotely related to the title of Queen," Neferti said.

"All right, Neferti it is," said Téa with a giggle.

Darius was happy to see his friend, Neferti, and his new friend, Téa, getting along well.

"So how did you guys meet?" Neferti asked with sparkling eyes. Darius caught the look, and he knew what was going to come next when that question was asked.

Assumption. Jumping to conclusions. Daydreaming the most absurd fantasies. Darius sighed and thought of a quick excuse.

"You know, excuse me, Neferti, but I think Atem is looking for you." Darius stretched up his neck to the spot Atem was standing at. Although Atem had his back, not looking for his wife obviously, Darius could tell a mile away that the spiked-up black hair with purple and yellow highlights head belongs to none other than his good friend, Atem.

"Really?" Neferti asked.

"Yes, I believe so. Oh, look, he's waving at us. Excuse us, Téa," Darius said and steered Neferti in the direction where the Pharaoh of Egypt stood.

"We have to catch up later, Téa," Neferti said as loudly as she could to Téa as she let herself be dragged to her husband.

Téa watched them disappear as she stood alone amidst the crowd, not noticing a pair of intense eyes staring at her. Téa felt a warm sensation flowing through her body. Boy, did it just get hot in here, Téa thought. She searched the room for Miho and saw the girl chatting with Hikaru and Toshi. The latter of the men was making funny jokes, from what Téa could see, and Miho was laughing, while Hikaru had a small crack of a smile on his face. It's good to see Miho laughing and having a fun time, Téa thought.

'_I better not bother her then.'_ With that in her mind, Téa stalked out of the grand ceremonial room, and into the open and empty hallway. She threw one last glance behind her before venturing off.

Darius directed Neferti to where Atem stood. Just when they were about to near him, Darius glanced back at Téa. He saw her looking at Miho, Hikaru, and Toshi. He thought he better get Neferti quickly to Atem, so he can keep Téa company. Giving another quick look, he saw her sneaking off.

The Pharaoh felt two presences coming up behind him, so he turned around. His face brightened up at the sight of his wife.

"Atem, what is that you wanted to see me for?" Neferti asked, and Atem gave a confused expression.

"I don't know. Was there something I needed to talk with you about?" Atem gave a nod in Darius's direction, in which he returned a similar gesture. Darius smiled sheepishly and bowed silently. He pointed at Neferti and mouthed "_Don't tell her I'm gone"._

"I don't know either. Darius said you were waving at us to come over here, but now you say you don't have anything to say. Darius—" Neferti turned to ask for clarification from Darius, but the man was nowhere to be seen. "Wasn't he here a second ago?"

"He was, but it looked like he had something more important to do than stand with us and talk about his love life all day," Atem said, trying not to giggle at his wife's obliviousness to be easily tricked.

"Why, that—" Neferti grunted.

Atem wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and said, "Why don't you spend the rest of the evening with me, my dear?" Neferti admitted defeat with a sigh.

* * *

Darius followed Téa out of the room and down the corridor. He couldn't help it but, like any other male species, he checked her out. She was fit for sure. The outline of her curves was torturous enough to stop any man in his tracks of what he was doing. A long elegant neck any man would love to leave love marks all over; slender but strong arms; soft-looking back; and legs that went on forever. He shook his head, chuckling silently at his male stupidity. They took two right turns and one left.

Téa stopped in front of a room. She clasped her hand over the doorknob and turned to find the door open. She peeked inside before opening it fully. Inside was a giant pool surrounded by the aromatic smell of lavender and jasmine, while see-through curtains added a seductive look to the room. She smiled at the emptiness of the room.

She took a cleansing in this room before the ceremony started, but it was not long enough to satisfy her. She closed the door behind her and began to strip out of her clothes. She undid her hair by taking off the clip that held it up.

She shook out her hair that fell neatly into place around her head. Téa walked naked to the edge of the pool and dived into the water. She swam underneath for a couple of seconds before coming back up for air.

Darius saw Téa entering the pool room. He wondered what she was doing in there until he heard water splashing. Well that answers my question, Darius thought. She was taking a swim, or maybe she had other ideas in mind. Darius did not know much about Téa, so he does not know how she really thinks or behaves yet, aside from being feisty and beyond seductive even if she does not know it herself. He worried she might be doing something she shouldn't be doing.

He opened the door and saw an empty room. The pool was calm. Oh no, did she drown herself, Darius questioned himself. He did not waste another single moment to think about it and jumped into the water.

Darius saw the shadow of a figure underwater. He swam toward the figure, but what he didn't expect was the naked woman before him. She had her eyes closed and a calm composure underwater. He touched her arm, and the sudden touch startled her.

Téa screamed out a breath of bubbles as she swung her arm, hitting whatever touched her. She swam back up for air. What was that, Téa asked herself. Téa saw bubbles floating up and a head slowly emerged from the water. She readied herself for another attack, but then realized it was a person. A man, to be specific.

Téa couldn't recognize the face at first because of the wet hair in the way of his face until he pulled it back with his hands, that she could identify him as general Darius.

"General? Was that you who touched my arm?" Téa asked.

"Well, there isn't anyone else here, is there?" Darius asked, frustrated.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry," Téa apologized frantically. "I didn't mean to hit you. I was startled. I am very sorry."

She swam up to him and checked his face. From the look of him holding on the left side of his jaw, she supposed that was where she landed her fist on. Téa removed his hand from the spot and made sure there was no bruise, although she doubted her hit was hard. Sadly enough, there was a small bruise forming.

"Oh dear," Téa said, giving a sheepish smile.

"Let me guess, there's a bruise?" Darius asked, waiting for Téa's answer. Her silence and anxious, guilty expression gave him his confirmation. "You know, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't wandered off."

"Excuse me? I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me? Bow down to your feet and beg? And what gives? _This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't wandered off?_ Are you saying this is my fault? If I remember correctly, I didn't ask to be follow, thank you very much," Téa said with a huff of anger.

"Well, whether you asked to be follow or not, I am the person who brought you and your friend into this place. That means you guys are under my care and responsibilities. If anything happens to you, then it will be on my head, do you understand?"

"So all it boils down is your male pride and life. You men think any woman or animal that comes into your territory, is surly to be your possession. No wonder male pride is such a horrid thing in this world. That must explain why there are wars in history. All because the man has pride and wants to be the bigger person than everyone else. Let me get this straight with you, general. I am not an object or a property. Neither is my friend. Neither of us asked for your protection. Besides, if we are both under your care, then why aren't you keeping an eye on her, too?" Téa asked.

"I am not worry about her since I trust Toshi and Hikaru to look after her. But you, you are a different matter. Who knows what you could be up to at any time, considering you are an outsider. For all I know, you guys could be spies."

"Then why help us at all if you are just going to call me and Miho outsiders? We never asked for your help."

"Because a friend asked me to," Darius said calmly. "And it's the right thing to do as an army officer who sees a civilian in danger whether she asks for help or not."

"Yeah, well, I think I was better off at that slave auction," Téa grumbled.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I think you know what happens to those who are sold at a place like that, right?"

"Of course. I was just being sarcastic, Mr. Know-It-All," Téa argued back.

"Good because it would be a shame for a young woman like you to be sold in the slave auction. Lots of women who get sold at the auction tend to get abuse by their owners or on the same worse level of beating, rape." At the mention of rape, Téa hugged herself closer. She thought of how cruel men can be to women, but she recognized women can be cruel to men also. "There are some owners who lose interest in their slaves later on and throw them away like yesterday's trash. One of those could have been the predicament you could have gotten yourself into if you remained at that auction," Darius said, neglecting to say that she was a rare species and would have caught the eye of a wealthy man who would shower her with jewelry and riches, or any man for that matter.

"Again, I am sorry about hitting you. I think we should get out of the water and have that bruise taken care of before it gets worse," Téa said. She began to swim past him, but his hand caught her arm.

A slightly warm tingle ran through her arm, and she looked up at him. She saw that his eyes were more gray than blue. She saw them staring back at her own eyes. Téa observed the young general. He was wet, of course, making the water drops glittered in the light on his revealed slightly tanned skin. She ran her hands on his arms, while his began to wrap themselves around her heavenly soft waist. Her hands reached into his damp, droopy, silky hair.

Darius closed his eyes and smiled. Téa caught the action and grinned. She bit on her lower lip, thought for a second, and licked her lips. She hoisted herself in the water and pressed her body against his fully-clothed one.

Darius inhaled a sharp breath. Téa stopped and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, there is something wrong." Téa waited further for him to explain. "Do you know how frustrating it is to have a beautiful, naked woman in my arms, while I am still fully dressed?"

Téa's grin grew bigger and seductive. She raised her head near his face. Their lips were less than an inch apart. Darius felt a warm breath near his lips and made the next move. He cocked his head a little to the right side and leaned in for the kiss.

"Darius are you in here?" a voice asked. The door opened, and a male voice said, "Oh, sorry, sorry!"

"That was interesting," Mokuba said.

"What was? Is Darius in there?" Noah asked, curious as to what Mokuba just saw.

"Darius is definitely inside, all right, and not alone."

"Who is he in there with?"

"Take your guess."

"You mean, he's in there with _her_?" Mokuba nodded as he was sure Noah was thinking the exact same thing he was.

Just at that moment, they saw Ishizu coming.

"Have you found him yet?" Ishizu asked the two young boys. They exchanged a silent glance and nodded together.

"You should probably go in and get him, Ishizu," Mokuba suggested.

Ishizu shot them a weird look, wondering why she should be the one to get Darius. Not that she has a problem, but it would be awkward if she walked in on something she shouldn't be seeing. Either way, she walked up to the door and turned the knob…

Darius blew out the breath he had been holding and sighed. He held Téa close to him and set his face in her hair, the smell of perfume soap dancing around his nostril. He unwrapped his arms around her waist, but not before placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. He lingered the kiss on the spot longer than he should have, but he couldn't resist kissing up along the side of her neck, in which he got a soft moan from the female in his arms.

"Darius, are you in here?" A female voice asked, peeking in.

Darius pulled himself away from the embrace and walked out of the pool, dripping water as he walked.

"Yeah, I'm here, Ishizu," Darius answered. He noticed concern on her face, wondering what was wrong. "Is there a problem?"

Ishizu opened the door wider, thanking Ra that Darius was fully clothed, but he was dripping wet. And not alone, as she noticed female clothes on the floor. She looked around Darius to see a brunette hair woman, who she recognized as the main lead for the dance performance. And as the woman in her prophecy.

"Excuse me for the interruption," Ishizu said. "Darius, do you mind coming out here for a moment?"

"Sure," Darius said. He turned around to tell Téa that he is going to leave the room, and what he saw was Téa coming out of the pool. He looked away, so she won't feel uncomfortable of him staring at her. "Um, I am going to leave the room."

"Okay," Téa said, picking up her undergarments.

Darius opened the door, and he almost bumped into Miho.

"Oh, sorry, general," Miho said. "I heard Téa was in here."

"No need to apologize. And yes, she is here," Darius replied, stepping aside so Miho could come in, while he closed the door behind him as he met up with the three people who were waiting outside the room.

"Princess," Miho called out as soon as the door closed. The younger girl saw her mistress dressing. "Oh God, did something happened between you and the general?"

"No, Miho, nothing happened, so you can relax now. And don't forget, it's Téa to you, not princess," Téa said with a chuckle.

"Then, what did happen?" Miho asked, looking around nervously, which did not go unnoticed by Téa.

"We took a swim," Téa said. "Why are you looking nervous? Did something happen while the general and I were in here?"

"Yes, and it's big," Miho said. "Someone died."

* * *

"All right, what is going on?" Darius asked as soon as he closed the door and noticed the tense look everyone had on, although Ishizu was the calmest one since it seemed like she had seen it coming.

"Rose's dead, Darius," Mokuba answered. Noah nodded silently as Darius looked in his direction for more confirmation, while Ishizu had her eyes closed in sorrow.

Darius did not know what to say. The first person he thought about was Seto, and how well he is holding the news, although Darius guessed Seto could care less.

"How did she die?" Darius asked.

"Poison," Noah replied.

"Is the party still going on?"

"Yes, it is still going on, but the pharaoh is ending it early, so no one would panic over the incident," Mokuba spoke up.

"Where is her body?"

"In Seto's study room. The other priests and palace doctor are in there, examining her," Ishizu answered the question. "We came to tell you since it appeared four of your guards have been knocked out, so there must have been some intruders, and they might still be in the palace."

The door opened and out came Téa and Miho, questioning with their faces as to what is happening.

"Why don't you guys head over Seto's study room, and I will look after these ladies," Ishizu suggested.

"Are you sure?" Darius questioned, throwing a warning glance in Téa's direction.

"What are you looking at me for? I'm not going to do anything. I swear," Téa said.

"Don't worry, Darius, I will be fine," Ishizu said, putting her hand gently on his arm and smiled faintly.

He glanced one last time at Téa, who challenged him with a determined look of her own. He sighed and parted with Mokuba and Noah, both of who smiled secretly with each other.

Ishizu focused her attention on the two young women once the three guys disappeared around the corner.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ishizu, and I am the priestess and holder of the Millennium necklace," she said with a bow.

Téa and Miho gracefully bowed in return.

"I hope your stay will comfortable, princess Téa, and Miho," Ishizu said and began to depart.

Téa and Miho looked at each other surprisingly. They turned their attention to where Ishizu was disappearing. They chased after the priestess.

"Excuse me, priestess Ishizu, how did you know—"

"That you are the Greek princess Téa, and you are her, I don't mean it in an offensive way, maid Miho," the priestess finished for Téa. Both females nodded their heads.

"I am sure you have heard from Darius of the Millennium items, correct?" Nod from both Téa and Miho. "I am the holder of the Millennium necklace, which allows me to see the future. This necklace right here showed me you and Miho coming," Ishizu explained.

"But how would you know of our identities if all your necklace shows you is the arrival of me and Miho?"

"It also showed me your escape from the Greek palace and most recent events in your life before you left for the boat that was meant to sail to Sicily," Ishizu said without missing a beat.

"Are you going to turn us in?" Miho asked.

"Why would you think I do such a thing? There was no stopping you from coming here. It was destiny for you ladies to come here – to Egypt, to the palace."

"So you were the one who told Darius about our arrival, wasn't it?" Ishizu nodded her head with a yes. "So you're not going to tell anyone?"

"Yes. I do not know what the future holds for anyone in this palace at the moment because my necklace has been very unclear the past few days, but I will warn you to be aware of the consequences or events to come. Now that the introduction has been made, and curiosity has been answered, we need to get to the study room," Ishizu said.

Téa and Miho followed Ishizu to the study room of priest Seto.

"We'll wait out here, priestess Ishizu," Téa said. "We promise we won't run off. It's just not our business to be in there."

"Understandable. And you may just call me Ishizu," the priestess said and entered the room.

"Princess, what are we to do now? We need to get home soon, or the king is going to get mad," Miho warned Téa.

"Miho, lighten up. I know you worry about the consequences when we do get back home, and my father will probably put the blame all on you, but you know I have your back. You're like my sister, and my best friend. I won't let my father punish you for something that was not your idea in the first place," Téa said.

"I know all that, but the biggest worry I have is that no one knew we sneaked out of the palace. Even if, hypothetically, someone did see us, he or she wouldn't know where we were going. When your father returns home and asks the others where you are, they wouldn't be able to answer because they are probably running around frantically trying to find you before they have their heads cut off for the reason of not being able to keep an eye on you while he was away. Princess, you know how much the king loves you. He most likely will send out an army to search for you. With many different places and dangerous situations you could be in, and if he senses that a nation is lying to him about you not being there, there will be hell to pay with an explosion of war. I know you don't want that, princess."

Téa sighed. "You know, sometimes you make sense for your too own good, Miho. I don't want this search for me and you to escalate into war, if it comes to that, because I hate violence and wars. I know that my father loves me, but for the past twenty-four years of my life, he kept me under his control. If there is one thing I learned from my mother, it was to not let any man have control over you, Miho. I know my father acts controlling to keep me safe and protected, but I want a taste of freedom and explore the world on my own. I did that for ten years – constantly sneaking out of the palace to interact with the people of my homeland. If, and I mean if, this search does lead to war, then I will be the one to bear the responsibility for it all."

Miho smiled faintly, seeing as how strong-minded her mistress was to keep this real taste of independence from slipping through her fingers. At this point, there was no stopping the Greek princess. She might as well as go along with the adventure.

* * *

I hope readers were satisfied with the chapter. I can understand if readers thought some parts were a bit cheesy, but I tried to develop the situation in a way that it somewhat makes sense for the plot and characters. I am guessing some are questioning in their minds if this is an Azureshipping fanfiction, then where is the meeting with Seto and Téa (don't worry, hopefully that will be in the next chapter) and why were Darius and Téa sharing such an intimate moment? This is an Azureshipping story, there is no doubt about it, but I like to take things slow and develop the storyline and characters rather than rush into things (which I find typical in most Azureshipping stories), like having the two main characters meet/known each other, fight, kiss, fight, make up, throw an angst or two into their relationship that go away as fast they appear, break up, realize they still love each other, and end of story. Although I have a feeling that somewhere in the future when I do update this story, I will get readers biting at me for starting to follow the "trend", haha XD.

Hope to read some good and criticizing reviews. Oh, and I would like for readers to voice their opinions of what they want to happen next or ideas for future chapters. I know how I want to write this story, but I like to read some ideas from readers.

As for the updating, I think two and a half months to three is the minimum time for the next chapter to be posted up, now that I kept my promise to post up this chapter in November (and I met the deadline :D). So, I am guessing the next chapter will be out around late January to early/mid February.


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